Wood adhesives containing reinforced additives for structural engineering products

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to additives used in conjunction with adhesives to give enhanced performance. Engineered composite wood materials and methods of making such materials are also provided by the subject application. A reinforced adhesive includes an adhesive and an additive material comprising nanoscopic and microscopic materials.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is the U.S. national stage application of InternationalPatent Application No. PCT/US2008/087740, filed Dec. 19, 2008, whichclaims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/015,479,filed Dec. 20, 2007, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety, including all figures, tables and aminoacid or nucleic acid sequences.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Composite wood products, also known as engineered wood products, consistof wood-derived materials combined with other materials to form anaggregate material. An example is plywood, in which thin veneers of woodare joined together with adhesive to form a flat panel. Other examplesof composite wood products include particle board, wafer board, gluelambeams, structural composite lumber, oriented strand board (OSB), andoriented strand lumber (OSL).

Composite wood products offer greater strength, reliability, andconsistency compared to conventional lumber. Localized defects such asknots or density variations can be minimized or eliminated through themanufacturing process, giving a uniform product that is highly resistantto warping or splitting. More highly engineered products, such as OSB,typically perform within closer tolerances than less highly engineeredproducts, such as plywood. Composite wood products use wood resourcesvery efficiently because they may be manufactured from much smallertrees than conventional lumber, reducing the need to harvest “oldgrowth” forests. About 85-90% of a log can be used to make high qualitystructural panels, and the remainder—bark, saw trim, and sawdust—can beconverted into energy, pulp chips or bark dust.

However, one of the drawbacks of engineered products such as OSB is thatit is often about 10-40% heavier than similarly-dimensioned plywood. Thehigher OSB weight is a concern among builders and other users of theproducts, especially where the product must be transported and handledby hand, such as on roofs. Consequently, a lighter weight OSB thatmaintains requisite strength performance is highly desirable.

Adding additives such as extenders or fillers into adhesive is a commonpractice in the manufacture of plywood. The purposes of adding filler orextender to an adhesive include increasing the initial viscosity,shortening the assembly time, preventing excessive penetration ofadhesive into the wood, adding strength and reducing cost. However,conventional additives are not suitable for OSB and OSL productionbecause of the method of applying adhesive. In plywood production,adhesive resin is applied to veneers by roller and sufficient adhesiveis applied to form a continuous glue line. In contrast, in OSB and OSLproduction, the adhesive is typically atomized into fine resin drops(roughly 40-60 micrometers in diameter) as it is applied to the woodstrands. Only a minimal amount of resin is used and a continuous glueline is not formed.

Thus, there is a need for a reinforced adhesive resin suitable for usein the production of lightweight OSB, OSL, and other engineeredcomposite wood products.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to additives used in conjunction withadhesives to give enhanced performance (sometimes referred to herein asa reinforced adhesive or reinforced resin). Engineered composite woodmaterials and methods of making such materials are also provided by thesubject application. A reinforced adhesive includes an adhesive and anadditive material comprising nanoscopic and microscopic materials.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURE

FIG. 1 illustrates the cutting pattern for samples analyzed as set forthin the Examples.

DETAILED DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to additives used in conjunction withadhesives to give enhanced performance. In exemplary embodiments, theadditive-enhanced adhesives may be used in the manufacture of engineeredcomposite wood materials. When used in combination with the adhesive,the additives effect a desired modification in the structural propertiesof the composite material, such as an increase in strength.

Thus, reinforced adhesives according to the present disclosure allowmanufacturers to make less dense and therefore lighter boards withoutcompromising strength, thereby leading to handling ease and significantsavings in raw materials and transportation costs. Moreover, instead oftraditional aspen and pine woods, manufacturers may be able to usetraditionally less desirable, lower quality and higher density woodspecies such as oak and maple.

OSB is a composite wood product manufactured from cross-oriented layersof rectangular shaped wood strands joined together with adhesive. OSBpanels share many of the strength and performance characteristics ofplywood. Currently, about 40 OSB plants across the United States consumean estimated 2.1 billion tons of wood annually and generate revenue ofroughly 4 billion dollars. OSB has become a very important buildingproduct, now accounting for 65% of the sheathing market in theresidential housing sector.

In the first phase of OSB manufacture, logs are debarked and cut to auniform length. The logs are then turned into strands or wafers. Thestrands are dried with heat in a large rotating drum which is screenedto grade for strands that are the correct size. The dried strands aresprayed with liquid or powder adhesive resin and then transported inlayers on a conveyer system to a forming line, where the layers arecross-oriented into mats. A small amount of wax is also used to preventmoisture absorption into the boards during brief periods of wetting. Forface layers, the strands generally run along the panel, while for corelayers, the strands are randomly oriented or run across the panel. Themats are trimmed to a workable size and then moved to a press, where thewood strands and adhesive resin are bonded together under heat andpressure to cure the resin and consolidate the loose mat into a rigidpanel. Finally, the panels are cut to size.

Nanomaterial and micromaterial additives are shown herein to improve thestructural properties of resins/adhesives. Nanoscale materials include,for example, high surface area montmorillonite clay, which is in excessof 750 m²/gram and has a high aspect ratio (about 70 to 150) and highaspect ratio nano-cellulose fibril (10 to 250). Microscale materialsinclude, for example, high aspect ratio micro scale cellulose fibers (10to 50). The percentage of additives (dry weight) based on resin (dryweight of resin) can be 0-10% nanoclay or microclay, 0-20% nanofiber ornanotubule and 0-20% microfiber or microtubule celluloses (however, atleast one of these additives must be added to form a “reinforcedresin/adhesive”). The nanoclay, nanofiber, nanotubule, and microfiber ormicrotubule celluloses materials, or a combination of these, have highersurface area and aspect ratios, and are used as additives in adhesiveresins. Use of such enhanced resins in the production of composite woodproducts yields corresponding improvements in the structural propertiesof these products. For example, increases in modulus of elasticity,modulus of rupture, and internal bonding strength have beendemonstrated. Nanomaterial-reinforced adhesives are superior toadhesives reinforced with conventional larger-dimensioned fillers. Inaddition, larger-dimensioned fillers cannot be used for discontinuouslybonded wood composites, because it results in large resin droplets andpoor resin distribution. For example, nanomaterial-reinforced adhesivesmay be used in applications requiring atomization of the adhesive intosmall droplets, as in the production of OSB and other wood composites,including particleboard and fiberboard. Teachings of this disclosure maybe applied to wood composites including, for example, plywood, laminatedveneer lumber (LVL), particle board, fiberboard, wafer board, gluelambeams, structural composite lumber, oriented strand board (OSB),oriented strand lumber (OSL) and parallel strand lumber (PSL).

As used in this disclosure, “adhesive” means a substance capable ofholding materials together via a surface attachment. Adhesives arefrequently sub-classified, for example by physical form (e.g., liquidadhesive or tape adhesive), chemical type (e.g., silicate adhesive orresin adhesive), materials bonded (e.g., rubber adhesive or can labeladhesive), or condition of use (e.g., hot setting adhesive or roomtemperature setting adhesive). Mechanisms which may contribute to thecapability of a particular adhesive to hold materials together include,for example, chemical bonding, hydrogen bonding, Van der Waals forces,and mechanical attachment. In exemplary embodiments, an adhesive has aparticle size between about 200 and about 1,000 mesh.

Suitable adhesive resins used to make OSB, plywood and other compositewood products include polymers, which are long chain-like molecules.Polymers can occur naturally (as cellulose and lignin in trees, forexample) or as man-made materials (such as polyethylene). Some polymers,called thermoplastics, melt when heated. Another type of polymer isknown as a thermoset. While some of the precursors to thermosettingpolymers can melt and flow upon heating, they eventually cure to a rigidform that is unaltered by subsequent heating. Thermoset resins areparticularly suitable for use according to the present disclosure.

The term “curing” is used to describe the conversion of short polymerchains into a large, three-dimensional polymer. Adjacent molecules in aliquid resin droplet, or powder particle, quickly react with each otherto form a three-dimensional, cross-linked network. Cured resin particlesbond with wood wherever they contact it, effectively sticking adjacentstrands together throughout the board. These droplets of adhesives areoften visible as tiny red/brown spots on the surface of OSB panels whenphenol formaldehyde resins are used. Once curing is complete, themolecules that make up the adhesive are no longer reactive under normaluse conditions. One of the main benefits of thermosetting adhesives isthe chemical stability of the glue bonds.

Two types of resins dominate OSB production; they arephenol-formaldehyde (PF) and poly(diphenylmethane diisocyanate) (pMDI orMDI). Other suitable resins include, but are not limited to, liquidphenolic resins, powdered phenolic resins, amino-based resins (UF),melamine formaldehyde (MF), melamine-urea-formaldehyde (MUF),phenol-urea-formaldehyde (PUF), melamine-urea-phenol-formaldehyde(MUPF), phenol-melamine-urea-formaldehyde (PMUF), protein adhesive,natural phenolic adhesives, epoxy resin, unsaturated polyester and acombination of these, such as a hybrid resin (e.g., pMDI/UF or pMDI/PF).

PF is one of the dominant resins used in OSB and plywood production.Cured PF is considered waterproof and the resin is considered thebenchmark of comparison when determining the water resistance of otheradhesives for wood products. Although the cured PF resin is unaffectedby exposure to water, panels bonded with the resin are predominatelyintended for only occasional, short-term exposure to moisture. Resinmanufacturers produce PF adhesives by reacting phenol and formaldehydein a high pH (alkaline) water solution. The reaction is stopped at a lowdegree of conversion. The short chain PF molecules can penetrate intothe wood cell walls or hollow spaces inside wood cells. Curing the resinconverts the soluble, short chain molecules into an insolublethree-dimensional network and primarily forms mechanical bonds betweenthe wood and resin.

What is referred to as liquid PF resin is an alkaline water-basedsolution of low molecular weight PF chains. The amount of solid PFremaining after the water is removed is referred to as the “percentsolids content” of the resin. Typically, liquid PF used in OSBproduction ranges from 40-60% solids content. During hot pressing, mostof the water is vaporized, allowing the resin to cure. Advantages tousing liquid PF include lower cost, greater ease of handling andapplication, and better strand coverage at normal loadings, whencompared to powdered PF. The liquid resins also adhere to strands betterthan the dry powdered resins. However, liquid PF is more difficult touse successfully when the intended panel applications require high resincontent, since the addition of more water accompanies the addition ofmore resin. Excessive moisture can lead to the generation of relativelylarge amounts of steam pressure during pressing. When the steam pressureexceeds the tensile strength of the adhesive bonds, defects known as“blows” or steam blisters occur.

Solid PF is produced by spray-drying PF solutions, yielding a powder orflake. This resin is more expensive to manufacture, but costs less totransport and can be stored for much longer periods of time, providedthat it is kept dry and cool. Because the resin is not fully cured whenit is dried, it briefly melts when it is heated in the press. Theresulting liquid resin interacts with the wood, penetrates, and formsthe basis for a mechanical bond after the resin cures. While not a partof the resin formulation, moisture is needed to help transfer heat inthe mat as steam. Since no moisture accompanies the application of theresin during the blending operation, all of the moisture in the matcomes from the wood. When powdered PF is used, the wood does not have tobe as dry as it does when liquid PF is used. Reduced drying time canresult in energy savings for a mill. Although the adhesion of driedresin powder to wood strands can be problematic when producing higherresin content OSB, bonds formed using low resin loadings tend to bestronger, since solid PF does not tend to overpenetrate into thestrands. When powered PF is used, it is often applied during or afterwax application. This helps facilitate even resin distribution on thestrands.

Poly(diphenylmethane diisocyanate) (pMDI) has become a common resin usedin OSB production, despite costing significantly more than PF. Like PF,it produces waterproof bonds. In fact, the nature of its adhesion towood makes its performance better than PF when exposed to moisture.Unlike PF, pMDI does not primarily form mechanical bonds with the woodsubstrate; it is also capable of forming covalent chemical bonds withwood. These chemical bonds are stronger and more stable then mechanicallinkages, so manufacturers can potentially use less resin to achievesimilar, or greater, performance with lower adhesive resin loadings thanwith PF. Lower resin loading saves money, which can help to offset theincreased cost per unit of adhesive. Some advantages associated withusing pMDI adhesive include greater tolerance for higher moisturecontent wood, lower press temperatures, and faster press cycles. Thecombination of reduced costs (energy savings and lower resin usage) andincreased productivity (reduced pressing cycle time) can help offset theadditional cost of the adhesive. Because of the chemistry involved,pMDI-bonded products can be used in more demanding applications whereincreased water resistance is required. Potential disadvantagesassociated with pMDI use include the following: the need to use a moldrelease since pMDI will bond to metal surfaces and stick panels to pressplatens and cauls; a greater need to monitor environmental conditionsaround the press and blenders due to health risks associated withuncured pMDI in aerosol form; special storage consideration to protectpMDI from contact with atmospheric moisture, which can cause precure;and questions regarding the resistance of pMDI-bonded products todeformation under long-term loading conditions.

Adhesive resins may include additives such as fillers and extenders.Fillers are generally defined as relatively nonadhesive substances addedto an adhesive binder to improve its working properties, strength, orother qualities. Extenders generally exhibit some adhesive properties.

Suitable nanoscopic and microscopic resin additive materials include,but are not limited to, cellulose and/or carbon nanofibers andmicrofibers, nanoclays and microclays, cellulose or carbon nanotubulesor microtubules, cellulose nanofibers (such as microfibrillatedcellulose, microcrystalline cellulose, cellulose nanocrystal, bacterialcellulose, cellulose micro/nanofibril, cellulose whisker, cellulosecrystallines), cellulose or carbon fibers, or combinations thereof(e.g., microtubules, nanotubules, microfibers and nanofibers, etc.).When added to a resin formulation, the amount of nanoscopic and/ormicroscopic additives can be provided as a percentage that is calculatedon the basis of the weight of dry resin (dry weight of additives/dryweight resin).

Nanoclay is a clay mineral with a phyllosilicate or sheet structure witha thickness of the order of 1 nm and surfaces of perhaps 50-150 nm inone dimension. The mineral base can be natural or synthetic and ishydrophilic. The clay surfaces can be modified with specific chemistriesto render them organophilic and therefore compatible with organicpolymers.

In order to take advantage of the high aspect ratio and nanometer-scalethickness of nanoclays, it is necessary that the resin polymer penetratethe interlayer gallery of the nanoclay (intercalation), or nanoclay isexfoliated and dispersed in resin polymer. In an exemplary embodiment,nanoclay is added into cellulose powder suspension and then the mixtureis treated under ultrasound. The cellulose powders are fibrillated intocellulose fibril aggregates and at the same time, nanoclay is welldispersed into cellulose fibril aggregates. Other methods could be usedto replace ultrasonic treatment for fibrillation and dispersion, such ashigh pressure refiner treatment, grinder treatment, microfluidizer, highpressure homogenizer treatment and chemical treatment.

Cellulose microfibers are cellulose particles with size between about200 and about 1,000 mesh. They can be produced directly from wood pulp,wood flour and any natural materials containing cellulose by mechanicalmethods, such as grinding between disks, beating with impactors orhammers as in hammer mills, or crushing between rollers as in rollermills. Cellulose fibril and fibril aggregates are the mixture ofcellulose nanofibril, microfibril and cellulose fibers produced fromwood pulp or cellulose microfibers by ultrasonic treatment, highpressure refiner treatment, grinder treatment, microfluidizer, or highpressure homogenizer treatment. Many resources can be used for fibrilisolation, such as wood fibers, wood flour, cotton, lyocell fiber, sugarbeet pulp, sea animals such as tunicate mantles, potato tuber cells andany material containing cellulose. The raw materials could be pretreatedby chemical treatment, biological treatment to enhance fibril isolationor increase cellulose content by removing other components such aslignin, hemicellulose. One disadvantage of cellulosic fibers for theirapplication in industry is the strong hydrophilic nature of theirsurface, which inhabits homogeneous dispersion in non-polar polymers andcauses a weak interface, thus reducing the mechanical properties ofreinforced adhesives. Cellulose surfaces can further be modified withspecific chemistries to become hydrophobized in order to be used innon-polar resins such as pMDI or epoxy resin system. Methods include,but are not limited to, surface derivatization, grafting withpolyethylene glycol, 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane, or3-glycidoxypropyltrimethosysilane, surfactant adsorption or surfacesilylation with chlorodimethyl isopropylsilane.

In an exemplary embodiment, a combination of nanoscopic and microscopicadditive materials is used in combination with phenol-formaldehyde (PF)resin for production of oriented strand board or other engineered woodproducts. The additive-enhanced PF resin is shown to be capable ofincreasing internal bonding strength (IB), modulus of rupture (MOR), andmodulus of elasticity (MOE) for OSB. The ratios (w/w) of additivematerials(macrofiber/fibril/microfiber/nanofiber/microtubule/nanotubule:nanoclay/microclay)added to a resin can range from 0:1 to 1:10 or 10:1 to 1:0. Thus,exemplary ratios (w/w) of microfibers and/or nanofibers to nanoclays canbe about 1:0, 1:1, 2:1, 3:1, 4:1, 5:1 or 6:1. Alternatively, the ratioscan be expressed as about X:Y, wherein X is any integer selected from 0to 20 and Y is any integer selected from 0 to 20. In certainembodiments, only cellulose macrofibers and/or cellulose fibrilaggregates are added to a resin (i.e., no nanoclay or microclay is added(expressed in some contexts as a ratio of 1:0). These variousembodiments may be referred to as a reinforced adhesive comprising anadhesive and an additive material comprising cellulose microfiber onlyor cellulose fibril aggregates only (and are to be understood to havebeen formulated without the addition of nanoclays and/or microclays.

The terms “composite wood products” and “engineered wood products” canbe used interchangeably within this application. These terms include,and are not limited to, plywood, particle board, wafer board, gluelambeams, structural composite lumber, oriented strand board (OSB), andoriented strand lumber (OSL). Other lignocellulosic materials can alsobe used to manufacture composite wood products, and include straw, hempfiber, kenaf fiber or mixtures thereof.

Following are examples which illustrate procedures for practicing theinvention. These examples should not be construed as limiting. Allpercentages are by weight and all solvent mixture proportions are byvolume unless otherwise noted.

MATERIALS Example 1

-   1. Fibers: TC40 (available from CreaFill Fibers Corp.). Average    fiber dimension: 30 μm×18 μm×1-2 μm.-   2. PF resin: Core layer phenol formaldehyde resin 205C (available    from G-P Chemical Corp.).

Example 2

-   1. Fibers: TC40 (available from CreaFill Fibers Corp.). Average    fiber dimension: 30 μm×18 μm×1-2 μm.-   2. PF resin: Core layer phenol formaldehyde resin 205C (available    from G-P Chemical Corp.).-   3. Strands: Commercial southern pine strands (from Huber Engineering    Woods Corp.). Average strands dimension: 4.75 inch×0.63 inch×0.039    inch.

Example 3

-   1. Fibers: TC40 (available from CreaFill Fibers Corp.). Average    fiber dimension: 30 μm×18 μm×1-2 μm.-   2. Commercial nano-clay BEN-Gel HVP (Layered phyllosilicate,    available from Houjun Yoko Kabushiki Kaisha, Japan).-   3. Nano-clay, nano-cellulose fibers and micro-cellulose mixture: 4    part of TC40 and 1 part Nano-clay treated in distilled water by    ultrasonic system for 15 minutes.-   4. Wax emulsions: Cascowax-EW-58A (available from Hexion Specialty    Chemicals Inc.)-   5. PF resin: 1385C for core layer and 1355F for face layer    (available from Dynea USA Inc.)-   6. Strands: lab made southern pine strands from GP chemical Corp.    Average strands dimension: 2.83 inch×0.56 inch×0.035 inch.

Example 4

-   1. Nano-clay, nano-cellulose fibers and micro-cellulose mixture: 4    part of TC40 and 1 part Nano-clay treated in distilled water by an    ultrasonic system for 15 minutes.-   2. Wax emulsions: Cascowax-EW-58A (available from Hexion Specialty    Chemicals Inc.)-   3. PF resin: 1385C for core layer and 1355F for face layer    (available from Dynea USA Inc.)-   4. Strands: lab made southern pine and red oak from L-P Corp.    Average strands dimension: 6.1 inch×0.68 inch×0.034 inch.

Example 5

Resin: 13B122 for face, PF-785 for core, Liquid Phenol FormaldehydeResin (PF) of Arclin USA, Inc., directly provided by Arclin USA, Inc.,and used as received.

Nano filler A: Add 2 g micro-cellulose fiber (TC-40) to 70-140 gdistilled water in glass bottle. Treat the mixture for 15 minutes at 90%of full power by an ultrasonic system. After ultrasonic treatment, acentrifuge removed the most of the water in the mixture.

Nano filler B: Add 2 g micro-cellulose fiber (TC-180) and 0.5 g of nanoclay to 70-160 g distilled water in glass bottle. Treat the mixture for15 minutes at 90% of full power by an ultrasonic system. Afterultrasonic treatment, a centrifuge removed the most of the water in themixture.

Strands: Southern pine and hardwood mixed strands provided by Huber OSBmill at Spring City and lab made southern pine strands made inLouisiana-Pacific R&D center. The ratio of mill strand and lab strandwas 5:3. The strands were dried to 2.73% moisture content at a dry-kiln.

The emulsion wax (Cascowax EW-58H/LV) was obtained from Hexion.

Example 6

Resin: 13A003, Liquid Melamine Urea Formaldehyde Resin (MUPF) of ArclinUSA, Inc., directly provided by Huber Engineered Woods LLC., and used asreceived.

Nano fillers: Add 2 g micro-cellulose fiber (TC-40) and 0.5 g nano-clayto 70-140 g distilled water in glass bottle. Treat the mixture for 15minutes at 90% of full power by an ultrasonic system. After ultrasonictreatment, a centrifuge removed the most of the water in the mixture.

Strands: Southern pine and hardwood mixed strands provided by Huber OSBmill at Spring City and lab made southern pine strands made inLouisiana-Pacific R&D Center. The ratio of mill strand and lab strandwas 5:3. The strands were dried to 2.73% moisture content at a dry-kiln.

The emulsion wax (Cascowax EW-58H/LV) was obtained from Hexion.

Example 1

Commercially available cellulose microfibers were added tophenol-formaldehyde resin (GP 205C) to ascertain whether the structuralperformance of the bulk resin could be increased. These data arepresented in Table 1 obtained by three-point bending method according toASTM D 790 standard. Both modulus of rupture (MOR) and modulus ofelasticity (MOE) were shown to be enhanced by the addition of cellulosemicrofibers. Even relatively low amounts of cellulose gave significantimprovement. For example, 3% added cellulose microfiber (based onoven-dried weight of resin) resulted in a 24.1% increase in MOR (from 79to 98 MPa) and a 31.6% increase in MOE (from 3388 to 4460 MPa).

Preparation of reinforcing PF resin composites for these examples wasperformed in the following manner:

a) Commercially available cellulose microfibers (TC40) were added to PFresin (GP 205C) and mixed by a mechanical mixer to obtain a uniformresin additives mixture.

b) To make PF composite films (2 mm thickness), 25 g mixture was addedto a mold and vacuumed 30 minutes to remove bubbles inside of themixture. The mixture was then oven dry for 12 hours at 70° C. to removewater. Finally, the PF composites films were hot-pressed for 4 minutesat 160° C. to cure the composites.

TABLE 1 Mechanical properties of phenol-formaldehyde resin reinforced bycellulose additives. Cellulose Content MOR CV MOE CV (%) (MPa) (%) (MPa)(%) 0 79 4.4 3388 9.2 1 92 7.4 4181 3 3 98 7.5 4460 5.8 5 92 1.9 46832.6 10 103.5 5.3 4677 3.8

Example 2

The uniform reinforced PF resin mixture (the same as in Example 1) wasthen used to produce OSB for testing. These data were obtained by thetest method of ASTM D1037 standard and are presented in Table 2. At alllevels of added cellulose, both internal bonding (IB) strength and MORwere increased. IB increased by as much as 9.3% (from 0.54 to 0.59 MPawhen using a 4% cellulose formulation), and MOR (bending strength)increased by as much as 14.5% (from 26.9 to 30.8 when using a 4%cellulose formulation). MOE of OSB panels increased 12.1% to 3605 MPa byadding 4% of cellulose microfiber into resin (based on oven-dried weightof resin). Thickness swell (TS), an undesirable property, was reduced atall levels of added cellulose. Other properties of the oriented strandboard generally tended to be improved by the use of reinforced resin,but the results were not entirely uniform. MOE was improved with resinformulations containing 4% and 8% cellulose (increases of 12.1% and 5.2%respectively) but MOE was degraded modestly (1.5% decrease) with a resinformulation containing 2% cellulose. Water absorption (WA), anundesirable property, was beneficially reduced with resin formulationscontaining 2% and 8% cellulose (decreases of 4.5% and 13.6%respectively), but WA was detrimentally increased by 10.6% when using a4% cellulose formulation.

Preparation of reinforced OSB panels: The prepared reinforced resinmixture was blended to southern pine strands in a drum blender. Theresinated strands were randomly formed to mat and hot-pressed to OSBpanels. The following process conditions were used for making OSBpanels:

(1) Panels dimension: 20 inch×20 inch×¾ inch

(2) Strand orientation: random

(3) Layered structure: one

(4) Wood species: southern pine

(5) Target density: 40 lbs/ft³

(6) Pressing temperature: 400° F.

(7) Pressing time: 5 minutes

TABLE 2 Improved mechanical properties of southern pine OSB usingreinforced PF resin. Cellulose content IB MOR MOE TS WA (%) (MPa) (MPa)(MPa) (%) (%) 0 0.54 26.9 3215 39 66 2 0.58 29.2 3166 34 63 4 0.59 30.83605 36 73 8 0.58 30.2 3381 38 57

Example 3

In another embodiment, a reinforced resin formula was produced by addingnano materials including commercially available nano materials. Resultsobtained by the test method of the ASTM D1037 standard are summarized inTable 3. Very narrow variations in panel thickness and density wereachieved; differences in structural properties between panels are thussolely due to differences in resin formulations. As shown in Example 1,the 3% added cellulose microfiber (TC40) resulted in significantincreases in MOR and MOE of PF resin (Table 1). This formulation “TC0”improved OSB properties with a 7.63% increase in MOE, a 3.59% increasein MOR and a 39.0% increase in internal bonding strength (Table 3).

The same raw materials as used in the formulation of TC40 were convertedinto cellulose fibril aggregates by 15 or 30 second ultrasonictreatment. The use of this ultrasonically treated adhesive formulationresulted in OSB having improved properties as compared to OSBmanufactured with untreated TC40. For example, the formulation “TC30”improved OSB properties with a 9.40% increase in MOE, a 14.7% increasein MOR and a 35.7% increase in internal bonding strength. The “TCC15”formulation gave the greatest performance gain over unmodified PF resin.The formula TCC15 consists of 94.88% of wood, 1% wax, 4% phenolformaldehyde resin, 0.096% of cellulose fibril and 0.024% of nano-clay.The improvement by formula “TCC15” was most significant, with a 23.0%increase in bending modulus MOE and a 23.2% increase in internal bondingstrength, both of which are important key performance requirements thatthe OSB industry must meet. Bending strength and thickness swell werealso improved: it exhibited a 29.1% increase in MOR and a 9.9% decreasein TS. The performance of OSB constructed with the “TCC15” formulationconfirms that while cellulose microfiber or its cellulose fibrilaggregate can improve OSB performance, additive materials comprisingcellulose fibril aggregates in combination with nanoclays have thehighest potential to improve OSB properties. It appears that duringultrasonic treatment, nanoclays have well been dispersed into cellulosefibril aggregates. The final reinforced materials can easily bedispersed into resin via simple mechanical mixer and an ultrasonic mixeris not necessary to improve dispersion (confirmed by the “TCC30 andUTCC30” formulations).

Preparation of reinforcing PF resin wood composites for these exampleswas performed in the following manner:

a) Preparation of Nano-Cellulose Fibriles:

Add 2 g micro-cellulose fibers (TC40) or (2 g TC40+0.5 g nano-clay)TC40-nano-clay mixture to 70-100 g distilled water in a glass bottle.Treat the mixture for 0, 15 and 30 minutes at 90% of full power by anultrasonic system. After ultrasonic treatment, a centrifuge removed mostof the water in the mixture. The solid content of the mixture afterwater removal was 16-17%.

b) Preparation of Reinforced OSB Panels

The prepared nano-additives were added to both of core (PF 1385C), face(PF1355F) PF resins with a ratio of 3% (dry additives Wt/dry resin Wt),and mixed by a mechanical mixer to obtain a uniform dispersed PF resin.Wax (1%) was applied first and then the resin mixture was blended tosouthern pine strands in a drum blender. The resinated strands wererandomly formed to mat and hot-pressed to OSB panels. The followingprocess conditions were used for making OSB panels:

(1) Panels dimension: 20 inch×20 inch×¾ inch

(2) Strand orientation: random

(3) Wood species: southern pine

(4) Layered structure: three

(5) Target density: 40 lbs/ft³

(6) Pressing temperature: 400° F.

(7) Pressing time: 5 minutes

TABLE 3 Physical and mechanical properties of OSB using reinforced PFresin. Thick- MOE MOR IB WA TS ness MC Density RUN MPa MPa MPa % % mm %Kg/M³ Pure PF 3351 25.1 0.367 33.9 25.2 15.24 6.9 710 TC0 3607 26.00.510 42.1 24.7 15.45 7.8 670 TC0.25 3555 26.3 0.469 33.2 24.2 15.57 8.4682 TC15 3773 27.3 0.409 38.8 25.2 15.37 7.8 710 TC30 3666 28.8 0.49839.4 24.8 15.22 7.7 711 TCC15 4122 29.1 0.452 33.1 22.7 15.25 7.8 702TCC30 3791 29.5 0.384 39.6 24.7 15.18 8.0 698 UTCC30 3475 27.8 0.45041.3 26.2 15.26 7.8 705 Note: PF: phenol formaldehyde resin. TC0:commercial micro cellulose fibers TC40 without any treatment and mixedwith PF resin. TC0.25: TC40 without any treatment and mixed with woodstrands. TC15: TC40 ultrasonic treated for 15 minutes. TC30: TC40ultrasonic treated for 30 minutes. TCC15: TC40 plus nano-clay (4:1)ultrasonic treated for 15 minutes. TCC30: TC40 plus nano-clay (4:1)ultrasonic treated for 30 minutes. UTCC30 is similar to TCC30 but themixing method was different. For UTCC, an ultrasonic mixer was used. Forothers, a mechanical mixer was used.

Example 4

In another embodiment, a reinforced resin formula was used to reduce thetarget density of OSB panels made of southern pine and red oak,respectively. For pine OSB, the target density of the control (PF resinwithout reinforcement) is 38 lbs/ft³ and for resin reinforced panels is36 lbs/ft³. For red oak OSB, the target density of the control (PF resinwithout reinforcement) is 43 lbs/ft³ and the resin reinforced panels is40 lbs/ft³. Results obtained by the test method of ASTM D1037 standardare summarized in Tables 4 and 5. The density of pine OSB can be reduced4.4% by using nano-material reinforced PF resin while the panelsmaintain comparable properties to the control panel. For red oak OSB,the density can be reduced about 9.2%.

Example 5

Preparation of reinforcing PF resin wood composites for these exampleswas performed in the following manner:

a) Preparation of Nano-Cellulose Fibers:

Add 2 g micro-cellulose fibers (TC-40) and 0.5 g nano-clay to 70-100 gdistilled water in a glass bottle. Treat the mixture for 15 minutes at90% of full power by an ultrasonic system. After ultrasonic treatment, acentrifuge removed the most of the water in the mixture.

b) Preparation of Reinforcing OSB Panels

The prepared nano-additives were added to both core (PF 1385C) and face(PF 1355F) PF resins with a ratio of 3% (dry additives Wt/dry resin Wt)and mixed by a mechanical mixer to obtain a uniform resin/additivesmixture. Wax (1%) was applied first and then the reinforced resin wasblended to wood strands in a drum blender. The resinated strands wereformed to mat and hot-pressed to OSB panels. The following processconditions were used for making OSB panels:

(1) Panels dimension: 20 inch×20 inch× 7/16 inch

(2) Strand orientation: face and core were perpendicular to each other

(3) Layered structure: three

(4) Pressing temperature: 400° F.

(5) Pressing time: 4 minutes

TABLE 4 Physical and mechanical properties of Southern pine OSB. FillerDensity MOR (MPa) MOE (MPa) IB TS WA % lbs/ft³ ⊥ // ⊥ // MPa % % 0 38.620.2 41.7 2241 6321 0.48 21.9 48.2 3 36.9 18.8 44.5 2315 6822 0.42 22.955.6

TABLE 5 Physical and mechanical properties of red oak OSB. FillerDensity MOR (MPa) MOE (MPa) IB TS WA % lbs/ft³ ⊥ // ⊥ // MPa % % 0 43.616.0 37.9 1544 5905 0.45 21.6 34 3 39.6 14.4 34.6 1500 5597 0.37 26.047.8Panel Making:

Experimental design (Table 6) included three control condition and twowith nanofiller in the resin system. There were two repetitions for eachcondition. The parameters for panel making are as follows:

Panel thickness: 7/16″

Panel dimension: 24×24″

Panel density: 36; for control: 36, 38 and 40 lbs/ft³

Resin type: Face and Core PF

Panel structure: three layer

Face/Core Ratio: 60:40

Resin loading: 4%

Wax loading: 1%

Pressing temperature: 200° C.

Total pressing cycle: 5 min

Closing time: 50 seconds

Degas: 30 seconds

TABLE 6 Experimental design. Target Density Run Filler % (lbs/ft³) 1 040 2 0 38 3 0 36 4 3 (Filler A) 36 5 3 (Filler B) 36Panel Testing Procedure:

After pressing, the pressing direction for each panel was marked, andthen the panel was trimmed into 20 by 20 in. and panel density wasmeasured. The panels were conditioned to consistent weight in 65% RH and23° C. conditions. The entire panel was cut into MOR/MOE specimens, IB,24-hours TS and WA specimens as depicted in the cutting pattern shown inFIG. 1. Tests were done according to the method of ASTM D-1037.

Results:

The modulus and strength of OSB can significantly be increased by resinmodification, as shown in Tables 7-8. For the case of Formula A,parallel modulus increased 22.2% and strength increased 23.6% comparingto the control Panel 2 with the similar panel density (around 38.7lbs/ft³). For the case of Formula B, parallel modulus increased 22.8%and strength increased 18.4% comparing to the control Panel 3 with thesimilar panel density (around 37.7 lbs/ft³). Thus, the adhesiveformulations provided herein have shown potential for making strongercomposite products.

TABLE 7 Bending properties of reinforced phenol-formaldehyde made OSB.Filler Density MOE // (Mpa) MOE ⊥ (Mpa) MOR // (Mpa) MOE ⊥ (Mpa) Run %(lbs/ft³) average SD average SD average SD average SD 1 0 41.8 7432.2581.1 2408.9 145.0 45.8 4.32 19.7 1.91 2 0 38.9 5842.9 547.8 2066.0490.5 31.4 4.63 17.1 4.17 3 0 37.9 5459.1 407.7 1876.2 217.5 29.9 4.6514.6 1.97 4 3 38.6 7140.8 658.2 1848.4 428.3 38.8 6.38 17.5 3.40 5 337.7 6707.8 823.5 1443.5 200.2 35.4 5.73 11.8 2.26

TABLE 8 Physical properties of reinforced phenol-formaldehyde made OSB.Filler Density (lbs/ft³) MC (%) TS (%) Run % Average STDV average STDVaverage STDV 1 0 41.8 0.049 9.8 0.816 16.7 2.079 2 0 38.9 0.634 10.20.102 16.2 2.784 3 0 37.9 0.611 10.1 0.434 15.4 0.955 4 3 38.6 0.19210.2 0.519 21.9 3.501 5 3 37.7 0.141 10.2 0.157 19.4 3.076

Example 6 Panel Making

Experimental design (Table 9) included three control condition and onewith nanofiller in the MUPF resin system. There were two repetitions foreach condition. The parameters for panels making are as follows:

Panel thickness: 7/16″

Panel dimension: 24×24″

Panel density: 36; for control: 36, 38 and 40 lbs/ft³

Resin type: Face and Core MUPF

Panel structure: three layer

Face/Core Ratio: 60:40

Resin loading: 4%

2% catalyst was added [25% (NH₄)₂SO₄] based on solid resin.

Wax loading: 1%

Pressing temperature: 200° C.

Total pressing cycle: 5 min

Closing time: 50 seconds

Degas: 30 seconds

TABLE 9 Experimental design. Target Density Run Filler % (lbs/ft³) 1 040 2 0 38 3 0 36 4 3 36Panel Testing Procedure:

After pressing, the pressing direction for each panel was marked, andthen the panel was trimmed into 20 by 20 in. and panel density wasmeasured. The panels were conditioned to consistent weight in 65% RH and23° C. conditions. The entire panel was cut into MOR/MOE specimens, IB,24-hours TS and WA specimens as illustrated in the cutting patterndepicted in FIG. 1. Tests were done according to the method of ASTMD-1037.

Results:

Table 10 shows physical and mechanical properties of OSB using MUPF. Foreach condition, measured real panel density was slightly higher thantarget density except for Control 3. The real measured density ofreinforced OSB was 37.0 lbs/ft³, which was between Control 2 and Control3. The MOE and MOR of Reinforced OSB were significantly higher thanControl 2 and 3, especially in panel parallel direction and were veryclose to one of Control 1. That means the reinforced OSB with 37.0lbs/ft³ density has similar bending performance with regular OSB havinga density of 40.8 lbs/ft³ and has 3.8 lbs/ft³ density reduction.

TABLE 10 Physical and mechanical properties of MUPF OSB. Measured FillerDensity IB MOR (MPa) MOE (MPa) TS WA Run % (lbs/ft³) MPa // Vertical //Vertical % % 1 0 40.8 0.406 37 14.4 6918 2052.1 21.9 32.5 2 0 38.3 0.30530.6 19.3 5579.6 2354.7 21 32.2 3 0 35.9 0.299 24.7 12.7 5038.6 1979.421.1 32.9 4 3 37 0.284 35.6 13 6624.2 1828.7 21 34

Table 10 shows the reinforced OSB has similar 24-hours thicknessswelling and water absorption as compared to control samples.

As shown by the above examples, a small amount of additive material(about 3-4% by weight of the resin material) is adequate to improveresin performance, as shown in Table 1, and OSB properties, as shown inTables 2-10. Additive materials in the range of up to about 8% by weightof the resin material are especially suitable.

All patents, patent applications, provisional applications, andpublications referred to or cited herein are incorporated by referencein their entirety, including all figures and tables, to the extent theyare not inconsistent with the explicit teachings of this specification.

It should be understood that the examples and embodiments describedherein are for illustrative purposes only and that various modificationsor changes in light thereof will be suggested to persons skilled in theart and are to be included within the spirit and purview of thisapplication and the scope of the appended claims. In addition, anyelements or limitations of any invention or embodiment thereof disclosedherein can be combined with any and/or all other elements or limitations(individually or in any combination) or any other invention orembodiment thereof disclosed herein, and all such combinations arecontemplated with the scope of the invention without limitation thereto.

We claim:
 1. A reinforced adhesive consisting of adhesive and additivematerial; wherein said adhesive is liquid phenol-formaldehyde; andwherein the additive material consists of: a) natural cellulosemicrofiber, natural cellulose nanofiber, natural cellulose microfibril,natural microfibrillated cellulose, natural cellulose nanofibril and/ornatural cellulose fibril aggregates; b) natural cellulose micro fibers,nanoclays and/or microclays; or c) natural cellulose fibril aggregates,nanoclays and/or microclays.
 2. The reinforced adhesive according toclaim 1, wherein said additive material consists of natural cellulosefibril aggregates only.
 3. The reinforced adhesive according to claim 1,wherein said additive material consists of cellulose microfibers.
 4. Thereinforced adhesive according to claim 1, wherein said additive materialconsists of cellulose fibril aggregates, nanoclays and microclays. 5.The reinforced adhesive according to claim 1, wherein said additivematerial consists of a combination of cellulose fibril aggregates andnanoclays.
 6. The reinforced adhesive according to claim 1, wherein saidadditive material consists of a combination of cellulose microfibers andnanoclays and the (w/w) ratio of microfibers:nanoclays is about 1:1,2:1, 3:1, 4:1, 5:1 or 6:1.
 7. An engineered product comprising thereinforced adhesive of claim 1 and: a) wood strands or fibers to form anengineered wood product; or b) lignocellulosic materials to form acomposite product.
 8. The engineered wood product according to claim 7having a density of about 30-50 lbs/ft³.
 9. The engineered wood productaccording to claim 7, wherein said wood product is plywood, laminatedveneer lumber (LVL), particle board, fiberboard, wafer board, gluelambeams, structural composite lumber, oriented strand board (OSB),oriented strand lumber (OSL) or parallel strand lumber (PSL).
 10. Amethod of producing an engineered wood product comprising: a) applying areinforced adhesive according to claim 1 to a wood or lignocellulosicmaterial; and b) pressing the adhesive and wood material together toform an engineered wood product.